Edited by: Kuro and Lille
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James left his room for the first time in a few days. His editor, Wyatt, who was waiting in the living room, was worried that the man would die in his room. Wyatt tried to feed and clean the room but every time he came over, it got worse and worse.
When Wyatt saw James, he wanted to cover his nose and eyes but that would be rude, so he did his best to keep his professional smile. James smelled like he didn't shower in three days. His hair was knotted, like a bird's nest at the back of his head. He wasn't wearing a shirt or pants, just in his boxers like he had given up on dressing himself. His beard was unruly and patchy like he had a fight with his electric razor and lost.
Wyatt stiffened as James got closer, the urge to cover his nose and run was getting stronger. "James, the company wanted to know if your manuscript is ready."
Seeing Wyatt's unwilling face, James took a step back and nodded. "I understand, tell them I don't have anything ready. Help me clean my room, I am going to shower."
James looked depressed so Wyatt didn't say anything and entered the room when he heard the shower running.
The room was littered with cup noodles and containers of take-out. His poor books were piled in the trash, ruining their pages and covers. He didn't seem like someone who loved and cherished books. There were no legitimate pathways, so he had to step over things to get to the man's computer.
A document was open, but only half a sentence was on the page. He looked like he had kept writing this sentence only to keep pressing the backspace because he was not satisfied with the sentence.
Wyatt stopped looking at the screen and began to clean up all the cup noodles and food containers. By the time James was done in the shower, there was a pathway from the bathroom to the computer and then from the computer to the door. It had been a while since James had seen the floor of his room, even if it was just a little bit.
"I can't write, Wyatt." James eventually said as he sat down at the computer. His body molded perfectly into his work area. "I can't even start the first chapter. I have no idea what I'm doing anymore."
"Why don't you try to write something else? Do you have an idea for a different story?"
"No, I don't." He was so focused on trying to write a sequel, he couldn't think of anything else.
"Why don't you think of another story? Maybe as you are writing something else, inspiration will come to you for the sequel."
Wyatt knew that writer's block was a problem for a lot of people. Instead of dwelling on something for too long, it's better to do something else and come back later. Your mind will think of it even if you aren't conscious of it.
"I will try that."
He had to try to write something. If he couldn't write something, what was the point of stealing this book?
*****
After eating breakfast, Calvin looked through his closet and found there weren't many clothes to go out in. He found a plain white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans after searching his closet for more than 10 minutes. It could be seen that Calvin barely went outside. The Host who went into Calvin's body also didn't leave the house for over a month. He didn't realize that he stayed inside for so long, probably the influence of the original body.
"I need to buy more clothes." He was going to try to go out more often. The original didn't leave the house for 3 years already, it was time to leave and see the sun for the first time in a long time.
"Calvin?" Lucy's voice of concern called out from the living room. Calvin was in there for a while now and she was worried he slipped and fell or something like that. She saw Calvin as a fragile being who didn't want to go outside in case he got hurt.
Lucy was going with Calvin because Calvin had no idea where to go once he got outside. He could use a GPS but the experience wasn't the same. Lucy knows good places to eat and nice places to go find clothes, so it was fine to take her along with him.
"I'm okay! I just couldn't find any clothes to go outside. Give me a second." He put on his brown shoes, grabbed his wallet and keys, and left the room.
"Lucy, we also need to get me some new clothes. This is the only outfit that I can use to go outside…"
"Yeah, you need some new clothes." Lucy looked at Calvin's jeans which looked like they were a decade old. It didn't look like they fit him well either. "Leave it to me to find you new clothes! Do you have a budget?"
"Nope, so let's go crazy."
She forgot that the person in front of her was a famous author who had millions of dollars in his bank account. She forgot because Calvin was so down to earth and didn't like to spend excessive amounts of money. How could there be rich people like this?
The moment Calvin stepped outside, he put on his sunglasses and felt like his eyes were still burning. "Why the hell is the sun so bright? Maybe we should've left at night time…"
The sun has always been bright, Lucy thought to herself as she knew it would be rude to say it out loud.
"You need to get used to it if you want to increase your visibility."
"That's true." Maybe he should've brought an umbrella to protect him from the sun… It was so bright he felt his eyes were burning.
"Let's go to a clothing store first." Lucy was a little excited to help Calvin pick out outfits. Luckily, she brought her car as she knew that Calvin didn't have a car.
They pulled up to a few different high-end stores, and Lucy had a blast picking out clothes. Calvin let her do as she pleased. He was put into suits and casual clothing. Anything that looked good on Calvin was bought and put into her car.
Two hours later, the trunk and the whole backseat area were filled with bags of clothes. Lucy looked satisfied.
"Having a body like yours makes you look good in anything!" Calvin could wear a potato sack and he would make it look beautiful.
"Thank you. Let's go eat now, I'm starving…" Calvin sighed in exhaustion. He didn't realize it would be so tiring to try out clothes for 2 hours. No wonder a lot of people don't like shopping.
They arrived at Lucy's favorite restaurant. The food was similar to Indian food but the food was not from a country called India. The name of the country was different in this world. Lots of spices, amazing naan, it was scrumptious. He ordered butter chicken (murgh makhani), garlic naan, and samosas. Lucy ordered chicken tikka masala and shared the naan and samosas with Calvin. They were in heaven.
At the table next to them were a man and a woman who were monthly regulars of the restaurant. The two looked like upper-class individuals with branded outfits, watches, and purses.
The man was a handsome man who was almost 30. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Perfect jawline, perfectly groomed beard, hair slicked back to show it off. He was muscular even in his simple black shirt and khaki pants that fit his legs. He was the CEO of an IT company. All in all, he was the envy of all envy for men everywhere.
In the seat in front of this man was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She had hazel eyes, a perfect smile, and soft red lips. Her hair was wavy, giving her a more casual look. She wore a black blouse with white high-waisted pants. She had a pink purse at her side. She was the handsome man's fiancée. The two were attractive, showing that beauty and money went hand in hand most of the time.
The man had been staring at Calvin for a little too long, so his fiance snapped to get his attention back.
She sneered. "I know you have a bad habit of staring at good-looking men, but why are you making it so obvious?"
"Obvious?" The man replied with a scoff, "You are one to talk when you can't stop staring at his companion every few seconds."
"Do you want to fight? Those are fighting words." The woman pointed her fork at the man, ready to fling a chickpea at him. She had a chickpea tikka masala in front of her and she was about to use it as a weapon.
The man who had naan in his hand was ready to defend against her attack. "Can you even fight me when you know I'm right?"
The two were engaged but also best friends who were like children when they were together. Since they were so similar, there were times when they butt heads like fire and water. Being too similar was a bad thing, especially when the bad traits they share piss each other off.
The two began to bicker loudly like they always did, making it so that Lucy and Calvin looked over at them.
"They seem like they get along well." Calvin looked over at them with a smile. It reminded him of God System, aka Damien, but they never bickered like this.
"It seems they are engaged so it's no wonder they are so close." Lucy saw their rings and couldn't help but swoon. She thought it was nice to find a partner that she could bicker and have fun with.
Even though the man and woman were bickering, they looked like they were having fun.
Seeing them together made him yearn for God System more than ever. He hoped he would be able to find the man soon.
*****
After Lucy's and Calvin's first outing together, Calvin went back into his cave and only came out once a week. He was focused on writing the third book of his new series. He was already finished with his first book, I'd Do Anything for You, and the second book, You Are My Life. He was happily writing the third book, I Give My Life to You. He spent most of the day writing except for when he was eating, sleeping, or using the bathroom. This was only possible with the help of his enhanced memory (gifted to all Hosts) and System 225 which helped him write as he thought.
Calvin reread a bit of what he was writing:
After escaping from the Yorik Empire soldiers, Captain Ralph and Sterias were sitting in a cave a distance away from the capital. The two were exhausted from running for days straight. It was a miracle that they lost the imperial soldiers, but they knew they could only rest a little bit before they had to keep going and escape to a neighboring country.
"Are you okay, Sterias?" Captain Ralph questioned as he held Sterias' hand gently.
Sterias replied with a smile. "Exhausted, but I am okay. How about you?"
"A little tired, but I am also okay."
Ever since they found out about Fernas' plan, they rallied people together to fight against the Empire. They loved this country and this world in particular, so they couldn't let Fernas get away with his plan to lead the Earthlings to this world.
Even though Ralph wasn't born on the planet of Ereas, he fell in love with someone who was born and raised on Ereas. He wanted to do everything he could to protect this man and the world the man loved so much. This world was different from the war-torn apocalypse he was used to. He was different from Fernas as he witnessed the fall of many worlds on the conquest for resources and a place for the Earthlings to call home.
"I am sorry for getting you into this mess, Sterias..."
Sterias was originally just a wandering medical doctor, who traveled from city to city, country to country, healing those in need. He was known as the "Saint of Healing" to many commoners. He was loved by many people and loved the people himself. He was willing to help everyone no matter if they were orphans, injured enemy soldiers, or nobles. But he couldn't do much healing following Ralph around. Only from time to time could he do his thing. This made Ralph feel guilty because he was also saved by Sterias.
"No, I chose to walk this path with you. I will see through it to the very end with you."
It was a touching moment between the two. They felt their hearts connect stronger than usual. This also fueled Ralph's determination to save Ereas.
"I promise I won't let anything happen to you or Ereas."
"I will hold you to that promise then..."
It was a long journey for the two villains, but they decided that they would live together and die together…
.
.
.
.
.
Calvin stopped typing for a second and then sighed. "Hey, Lucy?"
"Yes, sir?" Lucy replied after she finished editing this one sentence. She was currently editing the first book for Calvin's series, I'd Do Anything for You. She was taking her time because Calvin wasn't planning to release it right away, plus, she also wanted to enjoy the story as she edited it.
"I need your opinion on something."
"What is it?"
"So far, Captain Ralph and Sterias had just finished their heartfelt communication in the cave after escaping the Empire."
He was writing a scene in the third book. It was at the beginning where they had just escaped the Empire after causing a few riots and a rebellion. Instead of becoming heroes, they were seen as Villains who wanted to harm the people. The nobles and royalty of the Empire felt it was selfish of Ralph and Sterias to not want to make Ereas prosper like the Earthians.
Even though they intended to save the people, the very people they were trying to save got the wrong idea. They became the most wanted individuals in the Yorik Empire.
"Should I make it so that in the beginning it will pan over to Fernas instead? Or should I continue with the struggles the MC and his lover will go through?"
"Why do you think you should pan over to Fernas?"
"I had an idea of maybe putting his point of view for the first half of this book. To see where his mind was going and what he thought of the MC and his lover. I'm thinking it would show the justification of his actions, but I wonder if that would be redundant."
"I think you should go for it because if you don't have his point of view, people won't see why he is the so-called Hero instead of the Villain. If it doesn't work out, you can just take that part out and try adding something else instead. You have plenty of time to explore, so don't worry about not getting things right away."
Lucy had a point there.
He nodded. "Thanks, I will do that." Calvin immediately went back to typing.
He had a flood of inspiration coming at him until the end of the day when he felt it was time to eat and rest. Lucy had left a few hours prior so it was just him in his apartment.
"This story... Even though I try to make them villains, they always end up not being villains..." Calvin mumbled to himself.
He sighed.
Calvin used to be a villain and most of the "villains" he went into weren't actually villains. He might as well make his story kind of like the TV show from the previous world. The so-called "villain" won't be a villain in the eyes of the reader, only in the eyes of the people in the story. A villain for wanting to stop the development and prosperity of the people. A villain for killing imperial and Earthian soldiers. A villain for causing a rebellion. And most importantly, they were villains for trying to stop Fernas.
Calvin was racking his brain on trying to figure out the next part. After going through Fernas' side of the story, the two were supposed to kill the incoming soldiers from Earth. They would hold on until Fernas traps them and kidnaps Ralph.
At the end of the third book, Captain Ralph dies in captivity. Sterias, who learns of his death, was angry at himself, but mostly at Fernas for taking away the love of his life. In the 4th book, I Can't Live Without You, Sterias would try to complete his and Captain Ralph's goals only to fail in the end.
"Gotta make this a tragic ending..." Calvin mumbled to himself as he quickly typed to get to the fourth book. His fans would probably scream if they could hear him mumbling as he wrote.
He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to make it so that at the end of the story, Sterias would die at the hands of Fernas. Fernas would be seen as a savior to the people of Ereas. But later on, they would regret it when the people of Earth came for their resources. Earthians would then enslave their people, and ultimately, bring destruction to their Ereas.
Sterias and Captain Ralph would, in turn, be seen as Fallen Heroes, instead of the "Villains" the people once put on their heads.
The System realized something important about Calvin's story. [Wait a moment... Wasn't this when you were...?]
"Yes, this is when I was once Captain Ralph."
[But you didn't have a lover at that time...]
"Of course I didn't, but I might as well make it so I did have one."
The original story with Captain Ralph was actually a lot crueler. He did want to save the planet, but he struggled alone. He wanted to help the people who once helped him after he crashed. He fell in love with nature, the sights, and most importantly, he fell in love with someone.
But the person he fell in love with, Sterias, was actually Fernas' lover. The two were seen as Saints as Captain Ralph was seen as a Villain wanting to stop Fernas and the Earthians from getting to Ereas.
In the end, Captain Ralph was tortured for months before finally being publicly executed.
And from the story plot, he knew that in the end, the people of Ereas would slowly go extinct because of the Earthians. They were enslaved, put up in zoos, and even publicly ridiculed. They weren't safe on their planet or anywhere else. In just 100 years, the Ereans went extinct.
"For Captain Ralph and the struggle he had to go through, I hope by changing his story a bit he would find some peace..."
As someone who went through the Villain System, Calvin wanted to write, at least in this world as a novelist, about the struggles the people he had once gone into had to face. He wanted other people to know their stories. Even if no one knew they were real stories, he knew, and he wanted to preserve that.
"This is the least I can do for those who didn't deserve to die cruel deaths..."He felt sad, but at least he could give them a better story and ending.
He was giving them and himself a happier ending.